


The Way You Came Around

by Sokaless



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: 21st century music, M/M, Pining, obliviousness isn't just a 1940's thing but Steve and Bucky are really good at it, pop culture references
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-07
Updated: 2015-04-07
Packaged: 2018-03-21 17:21:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3700745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sokaless/pseuds/Sokaless
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>After a while, Bucky says, “You know, this song sounds like it was written for you.”</i><br/><i>“That's funny,” Steve remarks. “I chose it because it reminded me of you.”</i><br/><br/><br/>Steve gives Bucky an iPod full of his favourite songs from the 21st century to help him deal with his nightmares. Bucky has a new mission- to find out who Steve is in love with, because there are a <i>few<i></i></i> too many unrequited love songs on that iPod.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Way You Came Around

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be, like, 4000 words. Somehow, that turned into 10,000 words of these idiots being idiots, so I hope you enjoy!  
> Thank you so much skyguyandsnips for your help with editing this thing.  
> 

It's a cold and bitter November afternoon when Bucky Barnes turns himself in to the Avengers.

He stands at the base of Stark Tower (technically called Avengers Tower now) and waits patiently for Stark's security to notice the man with the metal arm in the streets outside. He's sure he's on Stark's list of people to watch for. In fact, he's willing to bet that he's on many lists like that.

A side effect of remembering what's happened to him- Bucky knows that he's a scary bedtime story, a ghost that will kill you without conscious or remorse. He knows his reputation and worst of all, he knows that it's justified. It's been months since he started remembering things and he still wakes up screaming, the faces of those he's killed fresh in his mind.

But, he's improving. He can walk down the streets without clutching a concealed knife in his pocket now. He held a short, but polite conversation with a hotdog vendor in Arizona last week. He's done running around the country, trying to retrace his past. He's willing to face any punishment the Avengers hand him.

(And he really wants to see Steve again.)

Tony Stark is known for making flashy entrances, which is why Bucky isn't surprised when the man himself drops down on the sidewalk in full armour, at least six different weapons trained on him. He's seen a lot of weapons in his time, but the Iron Man suit is a masterpiece, one he knows (but can't remember how he knows) that HYDRA would love to get their hands on. He shakes himself out of that train of thought, waiting for Stark's next move.

“Excuse me, but I'm pretty sure there's a no loitering policy around my building,” Stark says, his voice tinny through the speakers of his helmet. “That rule especially applies to master assassins, they tend to make me nervous. Now, are you gonna let me take you in, or do we have to do this the hard way?” He pauses. “Cap will kill me if I break you, so let's just do this the easy way.”

Bucky personally doubts that Stark could break him, even in the suit, but he raises his hands anyway. “I just wanna talk to Steve,” he says. His voice is still hoarse from lack of use. He'll have to work on that. “He around?”

Stark flips up his faceplate and for a moment, Bucky thinks he's looking at a Howard clone. The guilt bubbles up inside him, threatening to overwhelm him, but he pushes it away and focuses on Howard's son. Now is not the time to think about all the people he's murdered.

“You know, in this day and age, we do have cell phones,” Tony says, then stops, listening to a voice in his helmet. “You sure?” he asks whoever it is, then nods. “Got it. Alright, I'm doing this against my better judgement, but let's go,” he says to Bucky, then without any warning, grabs him around the waist and blasts into the sky. Bucky can't help the outraged squawk that falls from his mouth as the ground zooms away from him because he remembers riding roller coasters and other rides at fairs when he was younger and this is _much_ worse. He's known Tony Stark for all of a minute, but he's already decided that he liked Howard better. At least Howard never had flying suits of terror.

Stark deposits Bucky on a landing pad seventy floors up, then lands gracefully beside him.

“If you try anything, I can have backup here in fifteen seconds,” he warns as Bucky struggles to his feet. He's reevaluating his opinion on the Iron Man suit- it's not a masterpiece, it's a flying deathtrap. This was not at all worth it. He should have stayed in Arizona.

“Bucky?”

Bucky freezes in place at the voice.

_Steve._

He wills himself to turn around.

Steve is standing in the doorway to what looks like a lounge, a blank expression on his face. He looks much better than he did when Bucky last saw him, dressed in plain clothes suited to this decade and a hairstyle to match. He's different, but achingly familiar in a world of unfamiliar things and Bucky swallows hard. He doesn't move though. Steve doesn't look threatening, but his shield is leaning against a nearby couch, within reach and Bucky realizes that Steve is ready to fight him again if he has to.

He clears his throat. “I've been watching the news. You just about got hammered by that giant robot last week,” he says. “Figured you could use someone watching your back again. If you'll have me.”

Bucky can see the moment where Steve realizes what's going on because his expression shifts from blank to a kind of dawning hope. He hates to think how badly he let Steve down that last time they were face to face. _“It's me,”_ Bucky wants to tell him. _“I'm so sorry.”_

He waits for Steve to say something though, watches as he seems to go through an internal struggle. “I had him on the ropes,” Steve says at last, testing the waters.

_Steve, you sentimental jerk._

Bucky lets himself smile, a real smile, for the first time in years. “I know you did,” he replies easily, and he may have his memory back, but he doesn't understand why Steve is looking at him like a drowning man who's just found his lifeline.

* * *

 

Of course, the next thing the Avengers do is lock him up.

Steve is furious with his team, but Bucky knows even he can't argue with their logic. He is a lose wire, too unpredictable to be let out just yet. They don't know what he's capable of, or even if he's really on their side. And so until he can pass a full psyche evaluation, he'll be kept under surveillance in one of the tower's empty Hulk-proof labs, as Stark lacks any proper prison cells.

“How does that make us any different from HYDRA?” Bucky heard Steve spit at Stark as they were arguing about what to do with him.

“Because this is temporary,” Stark insisted. “I don't like it either, but it's a precaution we have to take. And no one will be experimenting on him here, Cap. We want to help him.”

Why Tony Stark would show him any sort of kindness after what he's done, Bucky can't understand. Kindness is like a foreign language now, one that he hasn't had a chance to relearn.

Bucky slumps down on the cot they've left for him, sweeping a glance around the lab automatically to assess any threats. All in all, the day could have gone better, but it also could have gone worse. The Avengers didn't hand him over to the US government, and Steve seemed willing to speak to him.

On the downside, he's back in captivity.

He can feel his body slipping back into Asset mode now that he's in a cell again. He's on hyper-alert, aware of everything going on around him, from the footsteps half a corridor away to the sound of a pigeon squawking outside. Bucky closes his eyes, willing his mind to recognize that he's in a safe place, that this is not HYDRA, that he's not about to feel the excruciating burn of the mind wipe machine-

The door opens and he snaps his head up, body coiled tight like a spring.

Steve stops in his tracks, raising his hands slightly. “It's just me,” he says, taking in Bucky's defensive stance. His eyes sweep around the lab, from the glaring white lights to the high tech lock on the door and he suddenly looks like he wants to kick himself.

“I told Stark this was a bad idea,” he mutters, and proceeds to leave the door wide open as he makes his way further into the lab.

“What are you doing?” Bucky asks, bewildered. He does relax a little now that the exit isn't being barred, but keeps a wary eye on Steve. “The point of keeping someone prisoner is locking the door, I thought. Or are things a little different nowadays?”

Steve shrugs a little. “I remember what you were like, after that HYDRA base in '43. You hated closed doors for months after. And you shouldn't be a prisoner, Buck. I'm sorry about the team.”

Bucky stands abruptly, startling Steve, who's eyes flick to the door. “Before you come any closer, listen to me. Then you can decide on whether or not you want to keep that door open.”

Steve looks like he wants to say something to that, but he halts and stays quiet.

“I've gained my memories back, but there are still holes and I'm not the person you used to know. I've got blood on my hands, Steve, innocent blood.” Bucky pauses, thinking of explosions and screaming and a numbness about his mind that still scares him. “I've done a lot of horrible things in HYDRA's name, and I know... I know you wanted the old me back, but with everything they did to me- I'm not sure if that's gonna happen.”

Steve's smile is more of a grimace. “I thought you were dead,” he says. “I don't care if you're different, Bucky, you're alive. That's more important, don't you think?”

Bucky just looks at Steve for a moment, thinking again how miraculous is that they've both come out of this on the other side. “You've always been such a sap,” he says, though the effect is ruined by his voice cracking with emotion halfway through the sentence. He takes one step forward and Steve meets him halfway and Bucky finds himself falling into the first hug he's had in over seventy years.

It's weird at first, his arms don't quite know where to go, but it's Steve, and his body seems to instinctively remember things when it comes to him. He turns his face into Steve's shoulder, trying to ignore the stinging in his eyes. As far as hugs go, this is a good one, he thinks, but something is still off.

Oh. That's right.

“I think I preferred these when you were smaller than me,” he says, hiding his grin and Steve's answering laugh is half a sob.

“Still a jerk,” he says, and Bucky thinks that just maybe, they could be okay.

 

* * *

 

_“Focus,” the doctor is saying, slowly twisting the ring on his finger, and no, he won't, he knows how this ends and it's him coming awake with blood on his hands and screams in his ears and no please not again-_

_“Focus... focus... clear your mind... good...”_

“Bucky?”

Bucky blinks awake to see Steve hovering anxiously over him, features shadowed in the dim light and goes cold all over.

“No,” he breathes. “Not again.”

He thought he was away, he thought he'd gotten out, but it was an illusion like all the rest, to lure him into a sense of security. He knows how this goes by now, the illusion will play out and he'll think Steve has come to break him out at last, and then they'll bring him out of hypnosis for him to realize that Steve was never there at all and that he's been tricked into murdering for them again.

And then it's back to cryo-freeze until they need him.

Hypnosis was a hell that he had never wanted to go back to. When they finally invented the mind wipe, it was a mercy to forget. Why are they using it again?

Not-Steve looks worried. “Bucky, you're safe. It was just a nightmare.”

Bucky trips back over the cot and lands on the floor on the other side. Nightmare. He's living a nightmare right now. “You're not real,” he mutters. “Just an illusion. Like every other time.”

Near the end of HYDRA's hypnosis treatment, he'd been able to recognize that it wasn't real and bring himself out of it, but he can see it now, so why isn't it working?

Not-Steve steps forward, looking apprehensive. “What do you mean? What other times? Bucky, this is all real.”

“That's what you said before,” Bucky whispers before he can stop himself. “Over and over, I thought- thought I'd been rescued, and that you and me, we were gonna fight our way out of HYDRA. Course, then I would come out of it and realize that I'd actually killed more people for them while I thought I was fighting with you.” He laughs, and it's a hoarse, bitter sound. He's talking to the illusion. Maybe he really is losing it. “But this isn't any different and I know you aren't real so _why_ -?”

Not-Steve wrenches the cot aside and kneels in front of him, a devastated expression on his face. Bucky's glad this isn't real, despite what he'll have to face when he wakes up, because he never wants to see that look on Steve's face ever again.

“This is real,” Not-Steve tells him. “It's November 21 st , 2014, we're in Avengers Tower and you didn't need me to get away from HYDRA. You did that by yourself. We don't have to fight anyone anymore.”

He cautiously reaches out and takes Bucky's metal hand in his own, and a part of him is sent reeling from the fact that Steve would touch the hand that did so much damage to him.

Wait. The hand that did so much damage... he fought Steve on the helicarrier. He almost killed Steve on the helicarrier. Was that an illusion too? How could it be?

It's like a switch is flipped on in his brain then, and memories from the last eight months come flooding back, chasing away the remnants of the nightmare. He got away from HYDRA. He is his own person again. He's... well, he's not okay. But he's getting there.

And this is all real.

“Steve,” he whispers, and Steve smiles that sad smile that means he's trying hard to pretend he's okay when he's really not.

“You back with me?” he asks, and Bucky nods, inhaling a long, shaky breath.

“Yeah. I... yeah. sorry. Guess my head is a little messed up still.” He tries for a smile of his own. “Normally the nightmares aren't so bad, but to see you standing there after what I'd been dreaming of...”

“Hypnosis.” Steve spits the word like it's a curse. “What you said- was all of it true?”

Bucky recalls their conversation and is hit by a sudden wave of shame. He hadn't meant to tell Steve any of that. He could have lived his entire life satisfied with the fact that Steve was, for the most part, unaware of his Winter Soldier years. “Yeah. They had a doctor who was pretty good at what he did. He could make me think I was somewhere else. Even now, I still don't remember most of the people I killed while I thought I was with you.

“They told me about your death in '46 and every time I came out of hypnosis after, that, it was... like I was losing you all over again. I- Steve, this hand is pretty durable, but if you squeeze any tighter you're gonna break it and I really don't want Stark to have to fix it.”

Steve seems surprised to see that he's still gripping Bucky's metal hand and he snatches his own away, coughing slightly. “Sorry,” he says. A dark expression settles over his face, one that Bucky is very familiar with. Before the war, it was often followed by a punch and a black eye or a bloody nose and Bucky running in to finish a fight that Steve started. “What happened to that doctor?”

Bucky resists the urge to sigh. Steve, for all his bulk and strength, hasn't changed at all from the justice-seeking toothpick he was before the serum. “He's long dead by now, so unless you want to go digging up his skeleton for some revenge, there's nothing you can do about what happened. Like you said, Steve, we don't have to fight.”

“Are you saying you _don't_ want to go after HYDRA for what they've done?” Steve sounds bewildered and Bucky fights down his frustration. He's not used to talking so much, not anymore, and it's wearing him out.

“I'm not saying that. If you want to go chasing down HYDRA, I'll be right there with you. I meant what I said- you need someone to watch your back.” Bucky sighs. Nothing like 3 AM conversations for a bit of honesty. “But I've spent the last seventy years as an assassin, Steve. For now, I just wanna relearn who I am.”

All the fight goes out of Steve at that and he slumps forward a little, meeting Bucky's gaze. After a moment, he nods. “Alright, Buck. Just... whatever you need, let me know if I can help.”

And if the two of them sleep on the floor of the lab for the rest of the night, well, no one has to know.

 

* * *

 

Steve's version of 'helping' is revealed two days later when he walks into the lab holding a small rectangular object. It reminds Bucky of a cell phone, but the all the cell phones he's used are larger and thicker.

Steve holds up the object at Bucky's questioning look. “It's an iPod,” he explains, which is not helpful. “Some of them can take pictures and send messages, but this one just holds music. It's pretty handy.”

“Music, huh?” Bucky says, taking the iPod (seriously, what a stupid name) from Steve and examining it. It's silver, with white buttons and a tiny screen. It doesn't look capable of holding a cassette, or even a CD, as radios can. He has flashes of culture from the last couple of decades, but he's never seen this before. “Hows it work?”

“You download music onto it from a computer,” Steve says. He turns it on and shows Bucky the music stored on the device. Bucky runs through all the song titles and lifts an eyebrow at Steve.

“Nothing from our time?”

“That's the point,” Steve says. “I can't do much to help you if you have a nightmare. But this music is all from this century, stuff you haven't heard before. I thought it might help you remember you're not in a hallucination.” He taps on the screen and “Hall of Fame” by The Script begins to play. “I picked all good music, too, don't worry. Stark wanted to have some input, but I've heard what he listens to. I'm not sure they can call that music.”

“Look at you, the twenty-first century expert,” Bucky quips, to hide the fact that he's feeling impressed. He's only been in the tower for three days and already Steve has found a possible solution to his problem. Maybe Bucky should start hanging around with Steve's new genius friends too.

Or not. Stark is an asshole and he doesn't trust Banner yet. Not to mention they all keep coming into the lab to ask questions about his missions and HYDRA. On top of that, the psychologist he's seeing has too many degrees in things he can't name but that doesn't seem to matter either because she seems to have written him off as a hopeless case already. He's beginning to wonder if he's slid backwards since coming to the tower.

It doesn't matter. It was worth it to see Steve again. He may be sliding, but he can't deny that he hasn't felt this content in a long time.

Steve is grinning. “Well,” he says, “I wouldn't say expert. But once you get over the culture shock, living here isn't so bad.”

The culture shock probably wasn't as extreme for Bucky as it was for Steve. Bucky can't imagine what it was like for Steve to wake up to find that the entire world had changed overnight. Bucky, at least, has a few memories from every decade, not to mention a grasp on some of the technology from over the years.

They fall into silence then, listening to the song. After a while, Bucky says, “You know, this song sounds like it was written for you.”

“That's funny,” Steve remarks. “I chose it because it reminded me of you.”

Later, Bucky will think that right there should have been his first clue.

 

* * *

 

_He comes awake slowly and sluggishly. The last thing he remembers is the red, white and blue blur of Steve's shield as it took out two HYDRA agents guarding the exit to the building. He was so close to freedom..._

_He looks around for Steve, but Steve is nowhere to be found, instead, he's standing in the middle of a lab and all around him are armed HYDRA guards. He's been tricked, Steve isn't here, he's killed for them again and now they're going to make him go back on ice-_

Bucky jerks upright with a ragged gasp.

_Not the ice,_ he thinks, looking frantically around for an escape. He's in a lab and he needs to get out, needs to try again, maybe this time he can finally-

A song is playing from somewhere, something he's never heard before. He freezes for half a second, startled.

_For those nights when I couldn't be there,_  
_I've made it harder to know that you know,_  
_That somehow,_  
_We'll keep moving on._

Oh. That's Steve's music.

Bucky sinks back down onto the cot, trying to calm his breathing. He knows where he is now. It's November 23 rd . He's in Avengers Tower.

And Steve's idea worked.

Bucky reaches under his pillow to pull out the iPod, which is still playing the song. Stark's AI has been programmed into the device and every time he has a nightmare, JARVIS will play a track on the iPod, in the hopes that it will help him remember where he is when he wakes up.

“You are a genius,” he tells Steve when he stops in before his morning run. “The iPod idea, crazy as it sounds, worked.”

Steve breathes out a sigh of relief. “That's- that's good to hear. Which song was it? Stark will want to know, he's keeping track of all that data.”

Bucky glances at the iPod. “Marchin' On, by OneRepublic.”

Steve nods, smiling to himself. “That's a good one.”

Bucky thinks back to the lyrics-

_(There's so many wars we fought,_  
_There's so many things we're not,_  
_But with what we have,_  
_I promise you that, we're marching on)_

“Yeah,” he says, “it is.”

* * *

 

As time goes by, things get easier. His nightmares lessen, his psychologist becomes easier to deal with and the rest of the team seems to become more comfortable with his presence. At least, they no longer treat him like a bomb waiting to be set off.

One afternoon, Hawkeye comes in to see him. After staring at Bucky long enough that he starts to feel uncomfortable, he says, “You know, you aren't the only one around here who's had someone else controlling what they do.”

Bucky knows what he's talking about- Steve told him a few days ago about the team's origins, including the part where Clint Barton was forced into killing for the demi-god Loki.

That's one of the most mind-blowing parts about the future. There are aliens now, and one of them is even on the team. _Weird._

“I heard about that,” he says to Barton. “How'd you come out of it?”

Barton sits on one of the lab tables, making himself comfortable. “Cognitive recalibration,” he says. “Natasha hit me really hard in the head.”

“Think Steve tried that on me,” Bucky says dryly, “several times.”

Barton snickers. “It doesn't sound to me like you needed Cap's help,” he tells Bucky. “You got away from HYDRA by yourself, didn't you?”

Bucky remembers the helicarrier, the fury and panic he felt at the man who insisted they'd known each other all their lives, remembers _“I'm with you till the end of the line”_ and the fury giving way to a wave of memories as the helicarrier shook around them-

Yes, he'd broken away from HYDRA. But without Steve, reckless, persistent Steve, to give him that push, Bucky doesn't have a clue where he'd be right now.

He shrugs noncommittally instead of explaining and Barton doesn't push. Instead, he says, “Cap spent a long time looking for you after you went AWOL. He only stopped once we got the team back together and things started getting messy with no SHIELD around.”

“I know,” Bucky admits. Steve had been a second shadow for a while there, and it was equal parts comforting and irritating. “I needed some time to figure things out on my own. Steve couldn't have helped me with that.”

“I get that, and I think Rogers does too,” Barton says. “After New York, I took a six month leave from SHIELD to get my head on straight. I bought a farm, lived away from civilization for a bit.” He smiles ruefully. “It's a good farm.”

It's then that Bucky realizes that they're basically having a therapy session here and he narrows his eyes. “Did Davis put you up to this?” he asks suspiciously. Anne Davis is his therapist, who in the two weeks he's been seeing her, has insisted around five dozen times that he needs to open up about his feelings more.

Barton looks horrified, and then shudders. “Hell no. I don't take orders from Davis. Out of all the ex-SHIELD psychologists Stark could have re-hired, it _had_ to be her, didn't it? Nah, I stay away from her as much as I can.”

Bucky relaxes, just a little. “What are you doing here? People don't come down here just for social visits.”

“Cap does,” Barton mutters under his breath, before looking a little sheepish. “Actually, I was wondering... about the arm.” He rushes on at Bucky's raised eyebrow. So far the only Avenger brave enough to ask him about the prosthetic has been Romanoff. Bucky is impressed. “You're in the history books as being one of the best snipers in the war, so I've been wondering- does the extra weight on the arm take away from or improve your aim?”

Of course- Hawkeye is one of the best marksmen in the world, it makes sense he would come asking about Bucky's own skills as a sniper. He finds his opinion of Barton rising and gives the archer a smile that feels only a little dark. It's not a bad thing to want to show off a little, right?

“If you get me a gun I can show you.”

Barton, surprisingly, doesn't say no. Instead, he looks thoughtful. “I'll talk to the team, see if they'll let me give you a paintball gun or something.”

Bucky raises his eyebrows. “You'd trust me with a weapon? Aren't you afraid I'd use it to try to escape?”

Barton gives him a sharp look. “You've had a ton of chances to escape, Barnes. If you were going to, you could have done that ages ago. I dunno why, but you _want_ to be here.”

Perceptive. Bucky approves. If Barton can actually get him a paintball gun, he may become Bucky's new favourite Avenger.

“Anyway,” Barton says, hopping down from the table, “I'll talk to the team, see what I can do.”

He's at the door when Bucky remembers something he's been meaning to ask one of the team members.

“Barton,” he calls and Barton turns around expectantly.

“Yeah?”

Bucky holds up the iPod Steve had given him. “Is all the music from this century is as depressing as the stuff on this thing? Does your generation like to be miserable?”

A strange expression comes across Barton's face, like he's trying not to laugh. “I think that's just the Cap's taste in music,” he says. “If you'd like, I can get you more. There's lots of different stuff out there these days.”

Bucky agrees and hands over the iPod, a little reluctant to let it go. It's been real helpful these last few days and he's already feeling more grounded in this century again. And the songs Steve has picked aren't _bad_. He likes most of them.

He is curious, though. If there is so much music out there, then why are most of Steve's songs about loving someone you can't have?

 

* * *

 

“So, I have a question,” Bucky says as Steve sits at the table, drawing something in his sketchbook. Steve spends a lot of his time in the lab with Bucky when he's not out saving the world these days, talking about everything from the hardships they went through in the war to the pros and cons of cell phones in society as a whole. Sometimes, if Bucky is having a difficult day, they just sit in silence and Bucky likes that too, sorting through his own thoughts while Steve draws. It reminds him of the days before the wars, before everything went to hell, except the only difference is that Ed Sheeran is playing in the background, not Glen Miller.

“Hm?” Steve replies, not looking up from his work. Bucky knows he's paying attention anyway.

“Who's the girl?”

Now Steve looks up abruptly. His forehead creases in confusion. “What girl?”

Bucky gestures in the general direction of the iPod, where Ed Sheeran is begging someone to give him love.

“Steve, I don't know if you've noticed, but most of these songs are about unrequited love, or being in love with someone for a long time. Are you going to tell me that was a complete coincidence?”

Steve, amazingly, goes a little red and Bucky thinks gleefully, _gotcha._

“Come on, Bucky, it's not like I wrote the songs,” he protests, but Bucky is once again a man on a mission and this is Mission: Find Out Who Steve Is In Love With.

(Mission number two is Mission: Get Rid Of That Jealousy Right Now Barnes Before Someone Notices. But that's unimportant.)

“No,” Bucky agrees, “and I don't play professional baseball. Doesn't mean I don't like watching it, though, because I love the game.”

“That's- I-” Steve is getting flustered now and there's a possibility that Bucky is enjoying watching him squirm. “There is no girl,” he says at last. He makes a show of checking his watch, then closing his notepad. “But I, um, I've gotta go. Team meeting.” Bucky watches with his arms crossed in amusement as Steve hurries towards the door.

“I'm trained in espionage, Steve!” he calls. “I'm gonna find out eventually!”

“See you tonight!” is Steve's reply as he closes the door behind him.

Bucky leans back against the table, listening to the last few bars of Give Me Love before he sighs and chooses another song.

So. There is a girl. He's happy for Steve. Really. Or he will be, once he's stamped down his real emotions on the matter. Davis says that's not good for him, but Davis has probably never been in love with her best friend either.

It wasn't as much of surprise as it could have been, when his memories of having feelings for Steve came back. He doesn't know when that started, just that he became aware of it sometime during the war, when he realized it wasn't normal to be jealous that your friend had finally found a girl.

Agent Carter would have been good for Steve, he knows. It didn't help with the uneasy feeling in his stomach whenever he saw the way Steve looked at her.

Bucky dealt with it then and he can deal with it now. He is one of the most feared assassins of the last century. He can handle a few feelings that don't know how to stay in the past where they belong.

_“Show me how to fight for now,”_ sings Justin Timberlake. _“And I'll tell you baby, it was easy coming back here to you once I figured it out, you were right here all along.”_

Bucky resists the desire to throw the iPod across the room and changes the song to one that Barton gave him. At least Taylor Swift sings about bakers and 'hella good hair' instead of things Bucky doesn't want to think about.

* * *

 

After that, Bucky spends a large amount of his time trying to get Steve to tell him who this mystery girl is. It doesn't take him long to realize that Steve isn't a very good liar, but he is, as it turns out, a good secret keeper. Bucky tries on and off for the better part of two weeks, but Steve always smiles and changes the subject and so Bucky's efforts go unrewarded.

That's okay. It's nice to be able to joke around with Steve again over trivial things again. Well. Mostly trivial things, anyway. When he finds this girl, he's going to run a full background check three times to make sure she's good enough for Steve.

One day, a circuit in his arm malfunctions, which means Stark has to come in and fix it. He looks far too gleeful at the idea of finally getting to examine the arm and Bucky resolves to keep a watchful eye on him. Stark is too much like Howard in the way that he tries to upgrade anything that moves and so Bucky makes sure to tell him, “Just fix it, don't build me a new one, got it?”

Stark nods absently, but he seems to be trying to be careful and asks Bucky before he does anything serious. That's something that HYDRA never did and Bucky appreciates the gesture.

Matters are made worse by the fact that Steve, also present, is staring at the web of scars that make up his shoulder with barely disguised horror. Bucky tolerates this for a minute or two before saying, “Hey, if this is too much for you, you don't have to be here.”

Steve shakes his head. “I'm staying,” he says immediately. “It's just... god, Bucky, what did they _do_ to you?”

This is a subject that he would like to stay very far away from, possibly forever. “I'm fine, Steve. It's just an arm. Well- if you want to get technical, it's a weapon.”

“A weapon,” Steve repeats, then shakes his head and reaches out. Bucky holds back a flinch as his fingers skim over the scarring, but Steve isn't touching him with the intent to hurt him, but to... comfort him. It's the first gentle touch anyone has laid there since before the fall from the train and Bucky has to swallow hard to keep himself from showing how affected he is by that.

“It's not a weapon, Buck,” Steve says insistently. “It's part of you, even if it was made by someone else. HYDRA made you use it like a weapon, sure, but you don't have to keep thinking it is.”

Bucky looks up at Steve, temporarily speechless. Davis has said that to him as well, but never with conviction like Steve has. Steve genuinely believes what he's saying and Bucky doesn't know how to respond to that.

Stark clears his throat. “If you two are having a moment, I can just come back later,” he says, and Steve jumps, like he'd forgotten Stark was there. There's a lingering awkward silence and Bucky thinks fast for a new topic. He leans toward Steve a little.

“About the girl,” he says. “Is it Romanoff?”

As soon as Steve realizes what he's talking about, an alarmed look comes over his face and he darts a glance at Stark. “No!” he yelps and Bucky bursts out laughing at his expression. The tension shatters and Stark shakes his head.

“I don't even want to know,” he says, and gets back to work.

 

* * *

 

After three weeks at Avengers tower, Davis pronounces him mentally sound enough to not be a danger to himself or others. As much as he despises the woman, Bucky is relieved to hear that.

“You still have a lot of work to do,” Davis warns him as she stands to let herself out of the lab. “You're still going to have nightmares and bad days. But you've surprised me these last few weeks, and I do think you have a chance at living a normal life, if you keep using the tools I've showed you. You're free to leave, James.”

Such tools include trying to see his arm as another piece of him, instead of a weapon, and and focusing on real-world things when he has a flashback. Useful things, but Bucky still doesn't like the way she treated him at the beginning- like he was a hopeless case.

And she keeps calling him _James_.

All the same, he's still a gentleman and he jogs ahead of her to the door, calling, “Let me get that for you.” Davis gives him a look and holds up her key- the door is locked, as usual.

Bucky studies the lock for a second, then shrugs and uses his metal arm to punch straight through the locking mechanism and turns the handle on the other side. The door swings open, Stark's high tech lock dangling from it by a few wires.

Bucky smirks a little at Davis's shocked expression. He'd figured out a few weeks ago that the locking mechanism was the weak spot in the door, but decided to save that knowledge for a later day. It was worth the wait to see Davis go as white as a sheet. “It's been nice working with you,” he comments, then salutes with two fingers and steps out into the hallway. Upon turning to the right, he stops, because Stark is standing a few feet away, a pained expression on his face.

“That was supposed to be able to keep in the _Hulk_ ,” he says slowly, and Bucky laughs outright. He claps Stark on the shoulder as he walks by.

“There's your problem, pal,” he says. “Hulk-proof, not Barnes-proof.”

Stark heaves a long suffering sigh. “I kind of want to lock you up again just for being an ass but I don't think I have anything that could keep you in. He's free to go, right? Please tell me he's free to go,” he says to Davis, who nods, still looking stunned. She walks away without another word.

Bucky pauses in the hallway as Stark begins looking over the ruined door, calling distracted commands to his AI butler. He knows he has some bad blood with Stark. When he first came to the tower, he wasn't sure if bringing it into the open would be better or worse, but now he knows he has to say something.

“I'm sorry about your parents,” he says quietly and Stark stills, turns around.

“Thank you,” he says after a moment, and Bucky nods. It's not forgiveness, not quite, but Bucky will take it.

He may never be able to completely atone for what he's done, but he'll do what he can.

* * *

 

Bucky has dinner with Steve that night, on Steve's floor in the tower. Steve makes chicken and rice and Bucky can't remember the last time he had a meal so good. He's considering just moving in with Steve so Steve can make him food this good all the time.

“I don't remember you cooking this well before the war,” Bucky says, pointing his fork at Steve. “Are you sure you made this?”

Steve shrugs in embarrassment, swallowing a mouthful of rice. “Anyone can cook these days,” he says. “There are thousands of recipes on the Internet.”

“I can't believe you're taking cooking advice from complete faceless strangers,” Bucky says, shaking his head. He takes another bite anyway. If Steve has accidentally poisoned him, he's going to die full and happy.

“And you knew everyone who wrote the cookbooks we used,” Steve scoffs. “You've gotta admit it, Bucky, the future has got some cool stuff.”

“It gets points for the food,” Bucky says grudgingly. “But, I was promised flying cars in 1942 and I still don't see them around.”

“We have flying aircraft carriers, is that not good enough for you?”

“We _had_ flying aircraft carriers, Steve. Try again.”

Steve rolls his eyes, but he's smiling with an ease Bucky hasn't seen in a very long time. Those forbidden feelings bubble up again and Bucky hastily squashes them.

_No,_ he tells himself and forces himself to pay attention as Steve brings out that stupid notebook that he takes everywhere, in case he sees something that he wants to write down.

“Let's see,” Steve says, flipping to a random page. “We've had people on the moon, they've eradicated smallpox, they've found a cure for diabetes, they're allowing homosexual people in the military now, not to mention the rates of-”

“Wait,” Bucky says, his heart skipping a beat or two, “what was that last one?”

Steve gives him an unreadable look. “Since 2011, gay men and women are no longer allowed to be discharged based on who they love,” he says.

Bucky lets out a breath, sits back in his chair. He'd known about the moon landing and the extinction of smallpox, but this cuts close to home. To know that in this time, he could be open about liking both men and women and keep his rank of Sergeant... well, he wouldn't have even considered that back in the war. “Bit different from our day, huh?” he says.

“Do you have a problem with that?” Steve asks, an odd edge to his tone and Bucky shakes his head.

“No, it's just...” he takes a deep breath, looking down at his plate. “It's good to know that they wouldn't kick me out for my preferences now, you know?”

It's Steve's turn to look floored. “Are you saying...?”

Bucky nods at the table, not looking at Steve. “Yeah. I like girls, always have. But I found out a little later that I like guys, too.” He can't help the challenging stare he gives Steve when he glances up, daring him to say something.

Steve looks like his world has just been flipped on it's head. This is not encouraging. “You never told me,” he says, sounding stunned.

“Well it's not like I was shouting it from the rooftops,” Bucky deadpans. “Steve, do _you_ have a problem with this?”

“No!” Steve says quickly. “No, Buck, I don't.”

But Steve is quiet and distant for the rest of the evening and it's with an uneasy feeling that Bucky leaves his floor that night.

He walks out of Avengers tower as a free man, though he feels as though he's lost something just as important as his freedom.

* * *

 

Things with Steve don't improve. Instead, they get weirder.

Bucky rents an apartment in New York, aided by money he got from a HYDRA safe house before ever coming to New York. Stark says that when they clear his name to the general public, he'll have a whole lot of money waiting for him, but Bucky isn't ready to have that spotlight put on him. He's watched the news, knows how the public can fixate on a single person and their wrongdoings, and he doesn't want to be their new target just yet.

He goes to Avengers Tower on a regular basis, either for more therapy sessions (not with Davis, Steve's friend Sam Wilson found him a new therapist after Davis refused to work with him again) or to shoot targets with Clint Barton. Clint is fun and an amazing shot, and he may have a strange taste in music, but Bucky definitely appreciates his company.

Best of all, his behaviour around Bucky is not at all strange, unlike Steve's these days.

Bucky is watching TV with Thor in the main lounge when Steve walks in and he can feel, rather than see Steve halt when he sees Bucky.

“Hey, you want to sit down?” Bucky asks, trying for a bit of normal. “We're watching a documentary on humanity's plan to visit Mars. It's pretty neat.”

“Mars seems to be a very barren place,” Thor says thoughtfully. “Perhaps humanity should seek a planet with a little more... life to it.”

“Yeah,” considers Bucky, “after what happened in New York and Greenwich, I don't think anyone is ready for that.”

“Sorry,” Steve says, “I can't- um, have you seen Natasha? I need to speak to her.”

After receiving negative responses from Thor and Bucky, Steve beats a hasty retreat. Thor turns to Bucky, wrinkling his forehead in confusion.

“The Captain seems... off these days,” he says and Bucky sighs.

“Yeah,” he says, “I noticed.”

 

The following day, Bucky is heading to target practice with Clint when he hears two low voices speaking just around the corner.

“It's called 'communication', Steve,” Romaoff says, bitingly sarcastic, and Bucky slows his pace to eavesdrop. “You should try it sometime.”

The other person- Steve, laughs a little. “It's not that easy.”

“You need to tell him,” Romanoff says. “He's noticed something's up. You're letting this become a problem where there is none, and do you really think this is worth losing him over?”

Bucky frowns and clenches his fists so hard the metal one creaks. Are they talking about... him? About what he told Steve the other night?

“Natasha...” Steve says tiredly and Bucky doesn't want to hear anymore. He strides around the corner and takes a little vindication in the way Steve pales. So he was right- it was about him.

He gives Steve a brief, tight smile as he passes the two of them and proceeds on his way down the hall, a familiar blankness taking over his mind with every step.

When he gets to the archery range, he proceeds to break his own record for the amount of targets hit in the shortest amount of time. Clint is estatic.

“So the arm does make you a better shot,” he crows later as they're putting away their weapons.

Bucky turns away to hide his grimace, because it wasn't the arm. It's still too easy for him to hide in his Winter Soldier persona when things get difficult. Right now, he can't bring himself to care.

 

* * *

 

Things come to a head two days later.

Steve walks into the gym, avoids Bucky's gaze and begins to wrap his hands. Punching bag it is, then, and he hasn't said so much as a hello.

“Spar with me.” It leaves Bucky's mouth without his permission, but he then realizes he doesn't want to take it back. It's been too long since he's had an equal combat partner and he and Steve really need to talk. If sparring is the only way he can corner Steve into doing that, then so be it.

Steve hesitates, but Bucky is already walking onto the mat, raising his eyebrows in a challenge. “Scared?”

If there's one way to get Steve to do something, it's to question whether or not he can. Steve tosses the wraps aside and joins Bucky on the mat.

“You sure about this?” he asks, and Bucky knows he's remembering what happened last time they faced each other in hand to hand combat.

Bucky throws the first punch in response.

Steve ducks, then spins low on the floor, trying to kick Bucky's feet out from under him. Bucky steps back, then advances with a series of punches and kicks, trying to overwhelm Steve into making a mistake. Steve blocks them all and retaliates with a blow to the gut that almost sends Bucky to the floor.

Bucky grins. They're on an equal playing field now and it feels good not to hold back.

“Now are you gonna tell me why you've been acting all weird these last few days?” he asks, breathing easily.

“I have no idea what you mean,” Steve replies, faking left and then going right. Bucky snorts.

“You're still a horrible liar, Steve,” he says, aiming a kick to the back of Steve's knees. “Is this about what I told you on Saturday? I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

Steve goes down, but uses the momentum to spring back to his feet. “No!” he says loudly, taking a moment to regroup. “You didn't make me uncomfortable, Buck. It took me by surprise, sure, but I wasn't uncomfortable.” He throws an uppercut, then blocks another punch, wincing a little as Bucky's metal arm connects with his forearm.

The gym is silent for a while as the spar intensifies. Bucky becomes too preoccupied with trying to win to think beyond the fight and he's sure he's going to have bruises for a bit after this.

Steve tries for another blow to the face, but Bucky grabs his arm, then flips him over and pins him to the ground.

“If this isn't about Saturday,” he pants, trying to keep Steve down for a full five seconds, “then what the hell is going on, Steve?”

Steve struggles for a few more seconds, then seems to accept that he's lost and stops. “I... don't know how to tell you,” he admits.

“Just start with the truth,” Bucky says, releasing his hold on Steve. “You know, a lot of people think Captain America doesn't lie.”

“There's a lot of things people think Captain America doesn't do.”

They stand up and dust themselves off and then Steve makes to get off the mat.

“Really,” Bucky says. “So, that's it then?”

Steve sighs, looks at the floor. Bucky waits on edge for him to decide what to do. He can't help but be worried- what could be so severe that Steve doesn't want to share it with him?

Steve abruptly seems to come to a decision then and raises his head. The expression he's wearing is one Bucky has seen many times, before Steve lead the charge into a HYDRA base, or jumped off an exploding tank.

“You wanted to know who it was that those songs made me think of,” he says, pulling out that notebook again. “Well, I got one more for you.” Steve rips out a page and hands it to Bucky, then smiles that sad smile. “I'm not good with words when it comes to this, Buck, so this will have to be enough.”

And Bucky stares in utter confusion as Steve walks out of the gym.

He looks down at the paper to see only one thing written down on it.

_Wonderwall- Oasis, 1995 (Song)._

 

* * *

 

JARVIS directs him to a computer so he can look up Steve's song. The AI also helps him find the song on the Internet and isn't it sad that the most helpful person Bucky has met this week is an artificial intelligence?

Bucky thanks JARVIS for his help and hits play on the YouTube video on the screen.

It's a slower melody, like Steve seems to be more fond of and Bucky sits back and waits to understand what Steve is trying to tell him.

_Today is gonna be the day that they're gonna throw it back to you_

_By now you should have somehow realized what you've gotta do_

_I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now._

That's all nice and everything, but it's not giving him any insight to Steve's thoughts. Maybe his best friend is finally losing it.

_And all the roads we have to walk are winding_

_And all the lights that lead us there are blinding_

_There are many things that I would like to say to you but I don't know how_

Bucky sits straight up then, frowning.

_“What the hell is going on, Steve?”_ he'd asked just a little while ago.

_“I... don't know how to tell you.”_ was Steve's reply.

_“I'm not good with words when it comes to this, Buck, so this will have to be enough.”_

Now _Bucky_ has to be losing it because there's no way that Steve is... that Steve would...

_Because maybe you're gonna be the one that saves me_

_And after all, you're my wonderwall_

He listens to the rest of the song in a kind of numb shock, while replaying the last few weeks in his mind.

The way he's seen Steve look at him but never thought to pay attention to, because why would it mean anything?

The way Steve had evaded every question about who he'd thought of while choosing those songs- Steve had even _said_ he chose one of the songs with Bucky in mind.

Steve's whole body language over the last few days can be taken in a whole new light now. He wasn't acting odd around Bucky because he was uncomfortable with his sexuality, but because he was debating on whether or not to tell Bucky his own secret.

Those might be little things, but Bucky has been _trained_ to notice the little things and for a world-class sniper, he is _blind._

He slams the laptop closed and stands with one swift movement. “JARVIS, tell Steve I'm coming up,” he orders, then heads for the elevator.

New mission. Mission: Confront Steve Right Now Because Holy Cow Barnes You're An Idiot.

* * *

 

Steve opens his door as soon as Bucky knocks and Bucky walks right past him into the living room. He feels jittery, like he used to before a big mission and he turns around to face Steve, who's looking at him warily.

“How long?” Bucky asks quietly and Steve nods to himself.

“You figured it out. I knew you would.”

“Steve. How long?”

Steve's shoulders slump a little and he shakes his head, grimacing at the floor. “A few years, maybe. Didn't really realize what it was I was feeling until a couple months ago. You came back from the dead and it forced me to deal with a few things.” He smiles a little. “Natasha yelled at me. It helped.”

“A few _\- Steve._ ” Bucky runs his hand through his hair, looking up in exasperation. Are they both that stupid? Is the current generation as emotionally stunted as them, or is it a 1930's thing?

“I'm sorry if this changes things,” Steve tells him- or rather, the floor. “These last few days... I've been trying to figure out if I should tell you, and I only made things worse by keeping it from you. But I'm not sorry for loving you- not anymore.”

And there it is. Now it's out in the open. Bucky feels lightheaded, like Stark's taken him for a ride in the Iron Man suit again.

Love.

After everything he's done, to both Steve and the world, Steve somehow still loves him. There are fireworks going off in his brain.

“Maybe I'd better go,” Steve says, trying for a normal tone, and Bucky realizes that Steve has interpreted his silence the wrong way. He crosses the room in a few quick strides and grabs Steve by the collar, fixing him with a glare.

“You're still an idiot, Rogers,” he breathes. “But I guess that makes me one too, because I've been hung up on you since '43. What a couple of morons we are, huh?”

They're so close that Bucky can feel Steve swallow hard. His eyes have gone wide as he looks down at Bucky and Bucky will never stop being annoyed that Steve is now taller then him.

“What?” says Steve after what feels like an eternity. “Bucky-”

“You rescued me from that hellhole of HYDRA's,” Bucky says. He tries for a smile, but it turns out a little lopsided. “It turns out I have a thing for that.”

Steve outright laughs at that. He shakes his head, still looking stunned. “I don't know what to say,” he admits. “I never thought-”

“Yeah, well, neither did I-”

“-Since 1943, and I never even _noticed_ -”

“-You never said anything and we've been here a month-”

“Oh, are we really going there? _1943-_ ”

“Shut up, Steve-”

“-No, I think we should talk about this more-”

But Bucky decides he's had enough and swiftly closes the space between them, pulling Steve into a kiss.

Steve freezes for a moment, making a surprised sound and Bucky thinks that he may have made a mistake, but then Steve relaxes, bringing his hands up to thread through Bucky's hair.

Not a mistake then. Definitely not a mistake.

When they break away, Steve is wearing a dazed expression. “Or we could do that,” he finishes unsteadily.

Bucky snickers at his expression and Steve shoves him playfully in the shoulder, before becoming serious again.

“This is going to change a lot of things,” he warns. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Bucky considers that for a moment. Their relationship has survived war and experiments and brainwashing and even death. All things considered, this is one of the better changes they've encountered so far. “Of course I'm sure,” he says. “To the end of the line, right?”

Saying this apparently makes Steve want to kiss him senseless. Bucky will have to remember that.

* * *

 

This, of course, is Avengers Tower, where nothing remains secret for very long.

Natasha, Clint and Stark are watching a movie when Steve and Bucky walk into the Avengers living area. Natasha looks up, sweeps a glance over them and an evil grin spreads over her face. Bucky can't believe she caught on so fast- do they have a glowing neon sign over their heads that says _“Now In A Relationship”_?

Then again, Natasha has probably been trained to notice changes in body language. He hates spies sometimes.

“If you've got something to say, now's the perfect time to keep it to yourself,” Steve says mildly, looking through the fridge for something to drink.

“I wasn't going to say anything,” Natasha says innocently. “Lillian from Accounting is going to be so disappointed, though.”

Stark looks up. “What?” he asks. “What's going on?”

Steve sighs, grabbing a carton of orange juice. “I'm returning your Christmas presents,” he calls to Natasha, who just smirks and tucks her hands behind her head.

Bucky meets eyes with Clint, who looks over at Stark, then back to Bucky and Steve, and begins to laugh. Bucky perfected his poker face about eight decades ago and simply crosses his arms, leaning against the counter. It's fun to watch Stark be the slowest person in the room for once.

“Seriously,” Stark demands, “what am I missing? Am I being Punked?”

“You're a genius, Stark, figure it out,” Natasha drawls, and returns her attention to the TV.

Stark looks suspiciously from Steve, to Bucky, and then to Clint and Natasha. Bucky leans over to Steve.

“How long do you think it'll take him to catch on?” he asks and Steve tilts his head, thinking.

“Ten bucks says he figures it out today.”

“Fifteen says he doesn't. Stark's not that smart, not when it comes to people.”

“Deal.”

Steve and Bucky join the others in front of the TV, where they're watching Star Wars: A New Hope. Bucky ends up enjoying the movie, which Steve takes actual offence to.

“We have to watch Star Trek next,” he announces and Stark groans.

“Cap is a Trekkie? Really?” he says, looking incredibly disappointed. Somehow, this leads to an entire debate about sci-fi in the seventies, which Bucky tries to ignore, because Ben Kenobi and Darth Vader are having a lightsaber duel and it's amazing.

“Would both of you shut up and watch the movie?” he snaps at last and both Steve and Stark fall into sullen silence as Ben sacrifices himself, allowing Luke and his friends to escape the Death Star.

Steve tries to watch the movie after that, but it's clear he's not into it by the way his eyes keep sliding shut for longer intervals as the film progresses. By the time Luke blows up the Death Star, Steve is asleep, using Bucky's shoulder as a pillow.

His metal arm was created to be a deadly weapon, but Bucky supposes this is a good use, too.

There's a surprised sound from the other side of the couch and he turns to see Stark looking between him and Steve like he's having the revelation of a lifetime.

“That took you long enough,” says Natasha, an amused glint in her eye.

“What the hell,” Stark manages to say and Bucky laughs softly, trying not to jostle Steve too much. He's just lost fifteen dollars, but it's worth it for the expression on the engineer's face.

“Close your mouth, Stark, you'll catch flies,” he says.

“How did I not notice this?” Stark wonders out loud. “JARVIS, you traitor, you're supposed to notify me when these sort of things take place in my tower.”

“Sorry sir,” JARVIS says pleasantly. “You didn't ask, so I didn't feel it necessary to tell.”

“Does anyone else care to confess a life-altering relationship change?” Stark asks of the room at large, and Bucky doesn't miss the way Clint and Natasha look at each other. He settles back into the couch, smirking.

It's the future, and they've got sassy talking artificial intelligences and he's got Steve. Neither of those are things he ever saw coming, but he's definitely not complaining.

* * *

 

It's still dark outside when Bucky awakens from a fog of of harsh voices and cruel doctors and his eyes immediately seek out the doors in the room, planning his exit strategy. Before he can get up, however, he registers an unusual weight against his left side. He looks over as Steve shifts his weight a little, one of his hands resting lightly on Bucky's.

It's this little thing that clears the panic from his head and he lets out a long breath, closing his eyes.

“Sergeant Barnes, do you require assistance?” comes JARVIS's voice, quieter than usual due to the hour.

“No,” Bucky says, in slight disbelief. He hadn't needed music to bring him back this time. In the beginning, Steve's presence was often a hindrance more than a help, but now, it's enough to calm him down again.

Bucky's willing to bet it's because in none of his hallucinations had he ever even dreamed of a situation like this. It's as foreign to him as the twenty-first century music.

“No,” he says again to JARVIS, “I'm okay.”

The living area is deserted and the TV is off. Bucky looks at the clock on the wall and sees that both he and Steve have been out for a few hours. He can't believe he left himself vulnerable like that, but maybe it's a sign that he's finally growing to trust the team.

(Not Stark, though. If any pictures of him and Steve sleeping turn up within the next few days, Bucky's going to kill him.)

“That is good to hear, Sergeant,” JARVIS says and Bucky nods, begins to doze off again before he thinks of a question. Hearing JARVIS's voice has reminded him of something.

“Hey, JARVIS,” he whispers, “do you know what a wonderwall is?”

There's a pause before JARVIS says, “there appear to be conflicting opinions on the exact definition of the word, but it seems to mean: something or someone that causes feelings of happiness and brightens one's day. Is this helpful, Sergeant Barnes?”

Someone that causes happiness and brightens one's day. He wonders if Steve knows what it means.

“Yeah,” Bucky says, “thanks.”

He looks down at Steve sleeping against him and doesn't fight the fond smile that pulls at his mouth.

Wonderwall indeed.

 


End file.
